What's News in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin

On May 13, the Pleasant Prairie Village Board approved an amendment to a 1997 Cooperative Agreement with the Town of Bristol. On the same day, the Bristol Town and Village Boards also approved the amendment. The approvals mark the end of a negotiation process that has helped give more certainty to future development along the boundaries between Pleasant Prairie and Bristol.

Pleasant Prairie opposed the new Village of Bristol’s attempt to annex the remaining Town of Bristol, believing it violated provisions of the 1997 Agreement. The concern stemmed from the level of planning that the communities have undertaken to provide for current and future development near the municipal border. Bristol believed that Pleasant Prairie’s opposition to the annexation plans violated provisions of the 1997 Agreement. Both municipalities pursued legal action to protect their interests.

Through the amendment, the municipalities both agreed to withdrawal legal action. In return for Pleasant Prairie’s withdrawal of legal opposition, Bristol agreed to add approximately 35 acres to the Pleasant Prairie growth area to accommodate future growth within Uline’s Corporate Campus (allowing Uline to grow within one municipality as opposed to two). Bristol also agreed to consider the wishes of three other property owners to annex their land into Pleasant Prairie.

An additional requirement of the amendment calls for Uline to pay Bristol $500,000 over five years for allowing them to annex their land into Pleasant Prairie. Bristol, in turn, will pay half of that amount to Pleasant Prairie as a partial payment of debt owed for work formerly completed to bring sewer service to Bristol west of I-94 and for outstanding sewer capacity charges.

Through the amendment, Pleasant Prairie has also gained closure regarding the future extension of water and sewer services to Bristol. As a result of the amended agreement, the Village of Pleasant Prairie will no longer need to plan for the extension of new sewer and water infrastructure to meet future development needs in Bristol. Should the Town of Bristol be annexed into the Village of Bristol, under the amended agreement, Bristol would then have the ability to finance its own placement of infrastructure, as opposed to relying on Pleasant Prairie’s TID #2.

Overall, the amendment along with the remaining provisions in the 1997 Cooperative Agreement offer all parties involved (Pleasant Prairie, Bristol and Uline) more certainty regarding future development of the area along the municipal border. Mike Pollocoff, Village Administrator explained, “This puts a close to our need to plan for future municipal service needs for the unincorporated Town of Bristol along the boundary line. It takes into account many changes in the area that have occurred since the original agreement was created, and it offers a solid footing from which all of the parties involved can move forward.”